The tech Cape Town hopes will save water

The City of Cape Town is rolling out technology to several government locations to avoid “Day Zero”, the Sunday Times reported.

Day Zero refers to the time at which the city will shut off its running water supply and switch to a rationing system, where residents must queue at one of 200 distribution points to receive an allowance of 25 litres of  a day.

The Department of Public Works in the Western Cape has said the purpose of the latest initiatives is to ensure critical facilities are water-secure.

Mayor Patricia de Lille has blamed residents for the increasing likelihood of the city reaching Day Zero, as over 60% of Capetonians are using more than the allowed 87 litres per day.

The technology being deployed, according to the report, is:

• Restrictors that detect vandalised and broken pipes in Western Cape schools.
• Remote-access time-of-use water meters in 358 of the province’s 1,672 schools.
• Air condensers in government buildings to produce water for ventilation and air conditioning systems.
• Public works is experimenting with bioretention in areas that capture stormwater and allow it to be recovered through boreholes.

Now read: Cape Town’s level 6 water restrictions kick in